Welcome to Future Transport Tasmania

We are here to lobby for better public transport and rail infrastructure in Tasmania. We aim to find solutions to allow all Tasmanians to have environmentally responsible and affordable commuting options to get around our state and towns. A more detailed mission statement can be found in the left column or <here>.

Find our articles below, starting with the most recent ones first:

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

The Responses: Dean Winter

1. Since 2009 when the state government created Tasrail as a state owned
company after our rail network had seen years ofneglect the Labor party has been committed to
rebuilding a competitive and reliable rail freight network and we have seen
much success to this end.

If elected, I will wholeheartedly support the investment in excess of
$400m that is being made by the Labor party, both state and federally to
continue to revitalise the state’s rail network. This investment, which
Includes new locomotives, new wagons and replacing/refurbishing the below rail
asset (ballast, drainage, sleepers, rail, bridges and culverts), is fundamental
to the future of rail and I will stand up to ensure this continues.

To see this investment continue into the future and to build on the
important work Tasrail has already done, I will support Tasrail’s application
to Infrastructure Australia for a further $240M of Federal funds under the
Nation Building 2 Program and the future movement of bulk freight by rail.

2. The Tasmanian Labor government created this model because it saw the
opportunity to move freight off road and onto rail to support greater freight
efficiency across the state and to help make our roads even safer.

Given the amount of investment going into the network, I believe it
makes sense that rail stays in public hands.

3. The construction of the $77m freight hub at Brighton by the State Government
is a generational opportunity to provide capacity and efficiencies for
Tasmanian freight. It will reduce transit
times between the south and Northern ports and reduce traffic and congestion on
the southern reaches of the Brooker Highway by removing bulk freight travelling
by road to the waterfront. It will therefore have a major benefit not only to
the freight task in Tasmania but will help everyday commuter traffic to move
quicker and more safely.

While this will remove the need for the rail line from Brighton into
Hobart, I have sought and been given assurance from Tasrail that the rail
corridor to Hobart will be retained as a non-operational line and therefore
open for future use.

4. The secret to public transport in any city is to ensure it is safe,
clean and reliable.

While Tasmania and Hobart do not have the population to sustain full
scale multi-platform public transport networks like we see in Melbourne and
Sydney, this should not be seen as a disadvantage but rather an opportunity to
develop smarter transport ideas.

A quality public transport
network is one that is connected to bike and walking paths, city fringe car
parks and runs regularly and frequently.

Fundamentally we must invest in improving the infrastructure we have
and ensuring it is easy to use, functional, consistent and inviting for the
whole community.

5. While
the creation of a large scale passenger railway would be welcomed by any small
community, the analysis committed to, and undertaken by the State Government
through the Light Rail Business Case for Hobart’s northern suburbs however shows
such an investment would be costly and therefore not provide community benefit
for the significant funds it would cost.

While we must, as a priority, address issues of social exclusion
caused by a lack of suitable transport connections into places like the
Northern suburbs we have a responsibility to invest in solutions that show real
positive outcomes for local communities.

At a time when we must be considering ways to support our elderly and
disabled communities better and keep cost of living to a sustainable level in
the context of rising power prices nationally, the expenditure of over $80
million dollars for inflexible transport infrastructure that will require an
ongoing subsidy of up to $10 million every year does not seem to be the right
approach for Tasmanians.

6. There have been a whole range of transport proposals put forward of
both a functional public transport nature and of a tourist nature. With
proposals of varying degrees of merit from cable cars up the mountain to city
trams, monorails, underground tunnels and city bypasses, the discussion of
transport proposals is broad and diverse. I believe it is vitally important
that the community has these discussions and with unlimited funds all of these
things could be achieved - but that of course is not the reality.

The most important thing is that governments of all levels, private
investors and community start having these discussion not in isolations but
through a proper process and under the right regulatory framework that supports
sensible and visionary transport proposals.

Over the last few months I have established the Summit Action Group and held community
meetings to bring people together to discuss future tourist developments on
Mount Wellington. Through sensible regulatory change which promotes develop we
will see government and the private sector be able to work together to invest
in both tourist and public transport.

Through
governments working together with the community and the private sector, not
operating in isolation, we can test ideas such as Trams to North Hobart and
creating a water ferry network connecting our communities and see real steps
taken in developing Hobart and Tasmania.

I will
continue to support people who have real and visionary proposals that will help
our community be more connected.

7. Fundamentally the best approach to increasing public transport usage
exists in increasing service frequency, especially on priority routes,
refurbishing and enlivening public transport stops, providing enclosed safe bus
waiting areas, building bicycle storage facilities and develop ticketing
systems and pricing scales that support an easy, efficient and reliable
transport network.

If public transport is safe, clean and reliable - people will use it.

8. Bus priority lanes and clearways are an important component of
successful on-road public transport networks. They support reliability of
public transport services and reduce travel times of buses on key routes and we
must consider these solutions in making public transport more appealing.

Systems that give buses priority ahead of other traffic; including bus
lanes, traffic light priority and restricted parking, that can also support
car-pooling and bicycle use need to be a part of our solution to congestion on
key traffic routes into the CBD.

By trialling these systems during peak travel times and allowing
general traffic and parking to return during other times we can support public
transport while also not frustrating other road users.

9. Cars and
buses will continue to be a major form of transport for people in Hobart so we
must work to integrate cycling into this mix. We must work to create a
generation that embraces cycling as a part of the transport landscape which
means working with the community and helping to bring safe cycling onto our
transport links in harmony.

I strongly recognise the importance of cycling infrastructure in
Tasmania, as a healthy, non-emission transport option and the role it will play
in counteracting congestion in our city.

The Labor party has for a long time been committed to cycling and
cycling infrastructure and I will push for this to continue and to be extended.

We have seen the labor party support the Trails and Bikeways Program as
a 2008-09 Budget commitment, worth over $4 million. Through this investment and
through breeding strong relationships with local government, community clubs
and the private sector we actually saw over $10 million invested in in trail
and bikeway development across Tasmania.

The Cycleway Development Fund, created in 2010-11 is also continuing
to provide funds to a number of projects around the State. Through the
development of the Walking and Cycling for Active Transport Strategy by the
State Government my commitment as a member of the Labor party to cycling
infrastructure is very clear.

10. While Hobart’s urban congestion rates are by far the lowest of any
major city across the nation, we must work smart to make sure getting around
Hobart remains congestion free.

The ease at which we can get around our beautiful city is one of the
reasons why people love living in Hobart so much and if elected as the member
for Hobart I will stand up for smart, connected and diverse transport options
to ensure this way of life continues.

To lobby for and promote rail transport as a preferred option for bulk and intermodal freight

To lobby for and promote improvement and expansion of Tasmania’s rail infrastructure and network

-The retention of the Bridgewater to Hobart line- The reopening of various other lines eg. Derwent Valley, Wiltshire, Smithton and Scottsdale

To lobby for transport solutions to be integrated into urban and regional planning

PRIMARY RATIONALE

Climate change demands action, increased public transport services are inherent to this response

Increasing oil costs, together with the reality of Peak Oil will ensure that significant improvements to public transport services, with a much wider range of options, is necessary in the near future

Economic efficiency –assisting business and providing jobs

Equity and accessibility

Improved air quality and matching Tasmania’s Clean and Green brand

Addressing unsustainable traffic congestion

Removing discrimination –improving access to public transport for the disabled, elderly people and parents

More closely knit and cohesive communities;-eg. Neighbours who catch the same bus are much more likely to talk to one another in comparison to those who drive themselves to work

The notion that public transport systems or indeed a publicly owned rail system have to pay their own way is potentially counterproductive to the aim of such a system-Were Hobart’s old tram and suburban rail systems closed due to lack of patronage, or running costs?

Current demand is not relative to future use, simply because of the lack of current transport alternatives

Rail transport is potentially far more efficient than road, and has multiple benefits alongside decreasing carbon emissions, including;-significantly decreased road maintenance costs-potentially decreased road toll and associated costs relating to heavy vehicle crashes-Tasmania’s rail network was constructed in the 19th century and has to compete with a 20th century highway

MORE ABOUT US

Until now there has been no community-based group advocating public and rail transport. We are here to fill this gap and provide a voice for these issues in the public arena.

We mean business and will work as vigorously as any corporate lobby group does, except that unlike some we want to hear public opinion.

Membership of FTT is open to any person who wishes to be a part of it.

We are not affiliated with any political party. We welcome discussion of our agenda and ideas with anyone, and we hope to have discussions with all three major political parties in Tasmania about these issues.

Tasmania is currently re-defining itself. As part of this process of change and growth, in a vision of sustainability and progress, transport infrastructure is a vital part of nation (and state) building. Future Transport Tasmania aims to bring this vision of the future into today’s public debate.

For further information and comment:Toby Rowallan (Secretary) 0418 997 069Email: